Soundless Past
by unimaginee
Summary: When Weiss first meet Ruby Rose she was intrigued. During initiation the two met again and Weiss realised that there was much more to Ruby than what's on the surface. [deaf!Ruby.]


Weiss stared down at the girl laid in a pile of suitcases and in that moment all she could think about was how angry she was. Anger, irritation and frustration was all she could feel looking down at the girl, who only look confused. No sympathy, she didn't feel apologetic, she didn't feel bad. Only anger. A bit too much anger for something as small as this.

But by now she was used to it. She was used to getting angry quick. She was used to hiding all her other emotions away like they were a sin. Anger was the only thing she was allowed. She was used to sharing only her anger.

"You dolt! Do you have any idea how much this amount of dust costs? Probably more than your-"

"Err, sorry to interrupt but...do you think you could speak a little slower?" The girl said sheepishly

"What? Why?" Weiss' face scrunched up in confusion.

"I'm deaf and it's pretty hard to read your lips when you're talking so fast." The way she said it made it seem like it was her fault. She was taking the blame and that made everything Weiss was thinking at that moment crumble away.

A pang of guilt rung through Weiss and her face instantly softened. Her anger quickly melted away, seeping through the gaps in her fingers.

"Oh..Well..." Weiss found herself at a lose for a words for a moment, not knowing how to react. After a moment of a blank expression she rushed for something to say.

"Next time just watch where you're walking." Weiss made sure to add a slight edge to her words, even though she realised that the other girl couldn't hear them.

Now that her guilt had subsided, she was intrigued by the girl. She wonder how she fought while being deaf. Weiss relied on sounds all the time, too keep track of her enemies.

With a soft smile the girl mumbled an apology. After she helped Weiss pick her suitcases up she said a slightly awkward goodbye and was on her way.

Weiss stared after the girl as she walked away, that small smile playing on her mind. There was a tingling feeling in the tips of her fingers. She shook it off instantly and started towards where she needed to be, after all she was a Schnee and Schnees were never late.

* * *

Later that night Weiss found herself sat in a large room with dozens of other people. Idle chatter drifted around the room, filling it with noise. People were laid out across the floor randomly, most forming little groups. Weiss herself sat on a large window ledge at the edge of the room, one side to the night sky, other to the room of rowdy teens.

Her legs were stretched out across the ledge and her arms dangled freely at her side. Her head was tilted to the side staring out at the moon. Soft moonlight drifted in from the window, illuminating the room with a ghostly glow. The moon hung high in the sky, full and bright. Although Weiss could only think about how it wasn't it's own light that shone.

The girl from earlier kept popping into her mind. That soft, gentle smile stuck in her head. It frustrated her how she couldn't seem to tear her mind away from the girl. Maybe Weiss didn't want to stop thinking about her. She had made Weiss feel...something back then. Something Weiss liked, something she craved. Although she had no idea what exactly.

She turned her head from the window, searching for the thing that had been plaguing her thoughts. She dragged her eyes across room before they settled on the girl in question.

She was chatting animatedly with a taller blonde girl. And when Weiss said animatedly, she literally mean it. They were using sign language, hands moving in a flurry of movement that Weiss couldn't hope to understand. Weiss realised they must have been pretty close if the blonde had taken the time to learn sign language for her.

Weiss felt a small pang of loneliness, realising she wasn't that close with anyone, but quickly shook it off.

The conversation seemed to come to a close and the blonde look over towards Weiss. When their eyes met she grinned and waved, before shoving the other girl in Weiss' direction.

Weiss watched as the girl nervously made her way across the room, all the way over to her. She took small steps, her eyes always on the floor. Her hands played with the hem of her night shirt and Weiss couldn't find a better word for it than cute.

When she got to Weiss, she look up for a second, flashing that soft smile that she had and Weiss had to force down her own smile. That smile made her heart thump loudly in her chest.

"Hey." Her voice was small and meek.

"Hello."

After Weiss spoke the girl look up at her and grinned widely. Her eyes seemed to light up with something that Weiss couldn't name. Only now did Weiss notice the usual colour of her eyes. They were a deep grey, like a stormy sky. Weiss found herself unable to look away from them, lost in grey.

"Sorry about about earlier. I'm Ruby by the way." The other girls words snapped Weiss out of whatever trance she was in.

"Weiss Schnee. And you can forget about earlier, it was as much my fault as it was yours."

Ruby smiled at this. Weiss rolled the name around in her mind, inspecting it. She decided that it suited her.

Weiss pulled her legs towards her chest and offered the other side of the ledge to Ruby.

Ruby took a seat opposite Weiss, her smile never leaving her face.

Weiss returned her gaze back to the window and for a while they both sat in a sat in silence. Weiss could feel Ruby's eyes on her but she realised that only so she didn't miss anything Weiss said. But she still found the attention odd.

She found the whole situation odd.

If it was anyone else who had approached her Weiss would have found some way to get rid of them. But with Ruby the thought to turn her away never even occurred to Weiss. For some reason she wanted Ruby to stay. Offering her a seat was proof of that.

It was a silent way of saying please stay.

Weiss turned back to Ruby, desperate to distract herself from these thoughts.

"Who was that girl you where talking to over there?" Weiss said, trying to start some sort of conversation.

Ruby looked over to where Weiss was looking, where the blonde girl sat before turning back to Weiss.

"Oh. That's Yang, my sister."

A moment passed and Weiss couldn't find anything to say but Ruby continued anyway.

"Do you have any siblings?" Ruby asked with curiosity etched on her face.

Weiss chewed at her bottom lip for a moment, unsure.

"Yes. Winter, my sister." Weiss said after a second of hesitation. She didn't like talking about Winter and somehow – probably from the look on Weiss' face – Ruby knew that and dropped the topic without another word.

Weiss didn't know why she didn't lie. Usually she would have. She would have just said no and that would have been the end of it. But there was something about Ruby. Maybe it was that look in her eyes. Maybe it was that soft, sweet smile. Maybe it was the fact that she couldn't actually hear Weiss' words. But something made Weiss feel comfortable around her.

And that was something Weiss didn't like. Being comfortable around people led to trusting people and trusting people led to being betrayed.

Weiss glanced at Ruby out of the corner of her eye.

She was looking out of the window, into the night sky. That happy, gentle, innocent smile still on her lips. Bathed in moonlight, her eyes shimmered with light.

Weiss decided that she looked beautiful.

"Lights out! Initiation is tomorrow and you need your rest. Trust me." A loud voice boomed through the room, shaking Weiss from her thoughts.

"What did he say?" Ruby asked with a confused look.

"Lights out." Weiss repeated.

For some reason when Weiss' words reached Ruby, her lips curled down. Not some much a frown, just not smiling. Weiss founded it odd. Was she sad? If so why? Ruby had always had a smile on her face and Weiss realised she hated it when she didn't.

A second flashed by and her smile was back, although a little forced. She hopped off the ledge and turned to Weiss.

"Well, I guess i'll see you tomorrow? Maybe we'll end up being partners or something?"

"Maybe."

Weiss desperately hoped so.

* * *

As soon as she hit the ground Weiss took off. She walked with a sense of purpose, looking for something, someone.

_The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years._

She repeated those words in her head.

She had to find Ruby. She wanted to find Ruby.

Weiss searched, her eyes scanning every possible area.

Through the tree line she saw a flash of red and froze. Quickly turning towards it she started walking. As she approached the a small clearing her heart hammered in her chest. She stepped over a small bush and emerged from the trees.

She blinked through the light.

A person stood with their back to Weiss, her unmistakable red cape flowing softly in the wind.

Weiss walked quickly over, a bit too fast for her liking and tapped the girl on her shoulder.

Ruby quickly spun around and when she saw Weiss her eyes lit up. The girl dove at Weiss, her arms wrapping around her. She nuzzled her cheek into Weiss' neck in a way that made Weiss think off a puppy greeting its owner.

Weiss went stiff at the contact but a moment later Ruby pulled away and Weiss found herself missing it already.

"Weiss! I'm so glad I found you, I was so nervous! I was worried i'd have to partner with some jerk." Ruby shouted.

Weiss couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, yes, but calm down. We'd be in trouble if any Grimm heard you."

Ruby mumbled a small apology and her lips curled up in that small, sweet smile that Weiss couldn't get enough of.

"If any Grimm did heard me i'd take care of them easily." Ruby said rather stubbornly.

Weiss just gave her a glare which Ruby responded to by sticking out her tongue and turning away. When Ruby did turn away Weiss let a smile replace her scowl.

Weiss and Ruby decide on which way to go and started off in that direction. They walked in silence, mostly due to the fact that Ruby couldn't walk and talk at the same time. Weiss didn't mind. She basked in the quiet of the forest and took in the scenery. Every now and again Weiss would notice Ruby looking at her and her heart would skip a beat.

Eventually they came to another clearing. Weiss stopped just as she was about to step out noticing two black husks circling each other. She was just about to turn to Ruby and tell her to wait and let them fight each other but she wasn't fast enough.

"I've got this." Ruby said in a hushed but cocky tone from Weiss' side. Before Weiss could stop her she was gone, leaving only a few rose petals behind. Weiss blinked, confused, but she quickly realised that it must be Ruby's semblance.

Before Weiss could even turn her head back to the two beasts, Ruby was besides one. She had a large mechanical scythe in her hands and Weiss wondered how she lifted something like that. She had the end of the scythe pointed at the head of the beowulf and without missing a beat let of a round into the side of it's head.

Weiss realised that the weapon must've doubled as some kind of high impact gun.

Ruby then swung the scythe around horizontally, three hundred and sixty degree around in a circle. She used the momentum she had build and swung the scythe in an arch over her head, the blade cutting into the head of the second beowulf that was currently charging her.

And that was it.

Ruby turned back to Weiss with a large smile, clearing proud of herself.

For a second Weiss was shocked. She realised she was surprise that Ruby could fight like that. She realised that before she had been pitying her, thinking that she would need protecting. But clearly Ruby could take care of herself just fine.

Weiss was just about to scold her, explaining to her just how reckless that was when something stalked out of the tree line behind Ruby. It was a type of Grimm Weiss had never seen before. It was some kind of reptile, standing on its hind legs, long tail lashing out behind it. It beady red eyes locked straight on Ruby.

Panic jolted through Weiss, her eyes widening.

Before Weiss could even warn Ruby, the red head spun around, somehow knowing it was behind her. For a moment Weiss was relief but when she saw Ruby's reaction her dread returned ten fold.

The girl froze. Weiss didn't understand it, Ruby had taken out two beowulfs without even batting an eye. Why did she freeze now? What was different about this?

Ruby sheafed Crescent Rose and started taking shaky steps back. Ruby turned her back to the beast and that was when Weiss knew something was definitely wrong. You never turn your back, even the lowest ranked hunters knew that.

And then she saw Ruby's eyes. They were wide, fear and pain swirling around inside them. Those eyes that were usually so a light with excitement and joy were dark and hurt.

Ruby took off sprinting, right passed Weiss back the way they had come.

Without thinking Weiss turned to run after Ruby. She weaved through the trees, the grass crunching beneath her feet. She had no idea what was happening and her heart pumped loudly with panic, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Ruby's back kept getting smaller and smaller as she kept getting further and further away and Weiss was just thankful she couldn't use her semblance, probably too scared to have any control over it.

Weiss knew she couldn't catch her and cursed herself not being faster enough, for not being good enough.

In a last vain attempt Weiss called out.

"Ruby!"

But of course Ruby didn't hear.

But Weiss still kept running.

She kept running even when her legs started burning and when her lungs started begging for air.

She kept running.

Eventually she found a small cave, a dint in the side of a mountain.

Cautiously Weiss stepped in, the sound of her boots echoing off the rock around her. It was dimly lit, some of the light from the outside drifting in.

A muffled sob rang though the cave and Weiss' heart shrivelled in her chest.

She quickly made her way deeper into the cave.

Ruby was sat against the cave wall, curled in on herself.

Weiss approached her and gently touch her on the shoulder.

Ruby flinched away from the touch, her eyes wide and fearful as she stared up into Weiss'.

After a moment her features softened and a faint, ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.

Weiss sat down next Ruby, making sure not to startle the other girl.

Ruby just started at the floor, silent for a while.

Weiss still had no idea what just happened. Her curiosity was tearing her apart, but if Ruby didn't want to talk about it then Weiss wouldn't ask. She knew all too well how it felt to have someone prying into your life.

"Bet you're wondering what just happened." Ruby said weakly before turn slightly towards Weiss.

Weiss just nodded.

Ruby stared at Weiss for a moment, steely, tear stained eyes boring into her. She seemed unsure as to whether she should tell Weiss. Weiss just stayed quiet, waiting for what seemed like forever for Ruby's answer.

"That was the Grimm that caused my deafness."

The look on Ruby's face when she spoke made Weiss' heart drop. Those pained eyes, her scrunched up expression, the thin line formed by her lips. Weiss hated it.

"When I was eight I was walking through the woods."

_Bare branches covered the area in shadows. Dying leaves rested at the base of the trees, rotting away. She air was stale and musty. Wind blew the branches, knocking them together. Ruby's boots crunched the leaves beneath her feet._

"And when I saw it I just stood there looking at it."

_A pitch black beast, red, piecing eyes staring straight at her. _

"Back then I didn't realise...I didn't know just how terrifying those things could be. It was like it was just some big game."

_Ruby just watch it. Staring straight back at it. _

"It opened it's mouth so wide and let out this...noise. It was so loud."

_The beast's jaw parted, exposing a set of particularly blunt teeth. It let out a high pitched screech. The noised echoed though the forest, travelling for miles. _

"It hurt Weiss. It hurt so much and I had no idea what do to. All I can remember is the pain."

_Ruby clutched her hands to her head, trying desperately to block out whatever sound she could. Pain. Pain was all she could make out. Blood swirled in her ears and her grip tightened. But it was no use. _

"When the noise finally stopped, all I could hear was a loud ringing sound. Then I blacked out."

_Ruby sank to the floor, a loud ringing surrounding her from all sides. Her whole felt numb, weak. Black spots appeared at the edge of her vision, slowly growing. Eventually black was all she could see and it consumed her. _

Weiss let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"I guess when I saw it again I just...freaked out."

Weiss put her hand on Ruby's cheek, tilting her head. Her skin was soft and the contact sent electricity shooting up and down Weiss' arm. When there eyes met Weiss felt a fire start inside her chest.

"It's okay." Weiss' voices bounced around the silent cave, soft and caring.

Ruby still looked unsure, guilt and pain written around her face.

Weiss did the only thing she could think to do. Something she remember from her childhood.

She pressed her lips to Ruby's forehead, gently, carefully, so they were barely even touching her skin. Weiss' heart started beating faster in her chest and her skin set on fire. Her eyelids closed and she took in the moment, the experience and engraved it into her memory.

After a second flashed by she pulled back, greeted by Ruby's soft, gentle smile and caring eyes.

Weiss coughed and suddenly stood.

She looked by to Ruby.

"We need to go. Now."

Ruby looked up at Weiss confused.

"After all if we fail initiation we won't be partners." Weiss said, a small lips tugging at her lips.

Ruby still looked unsure, glancing towards the cave entrance and then back to Weiss.

The words left Weiss' mouth before she could even stop them.

"I'll protect you."

Ruby's lips curled, that soft, sweet smile.

* * *

**A/n:** Hey, heres a short oneshot for you guys. This fic features deaf!Ruby as requested by Rwbybomb. A lot of people requested more after I wrote Silent Snowfall and I really like the idea myself and i'm thinking about adding a few more chapters onto Silent Snowfall so please go check that out if you haven't already. Also please check out my ongoing story 'Snowflakes', Which is a White Rose, highschool AU story.

About the whole "request" thing, I don't really take requests. I guess you could say I take suggestions? If you have an idea you wanna share with me, go for It. If I like it, I might write it (if I I have time).

So yeah, I guess shout out to Rwbybomb21. Go check em out they write some awesome stories. My Wings Take Flight is a personal favourite as its Velvet x Ruby and I really love Velvet.

Please leave a review even if its just to say you enjoyed, I love getting reviews. They give me motivation to keep writing.


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